Infection of the uterus, or pyometra, is a relatively common condition that can affect unspayed cats, and it can be deadly if left untreated. Learn how to prevent and recognize this disease condition. READ MORE

What is the best food for a pet rabbit - fresh or packaged? Should you feed a baby rabbit different food than you would an adult rabbit? And what should you avoid feeding? Get the answers here. READ MORE

A U.K. based study found a whopping 560% rise in Lyme disease in the last six years, and a U.S. study published earlier this year shows a 320% increase since the 1990s in tick populations that carry the disease. Why is this happening?READ MORE

Facebook did some research to get to the bottom of the social characteristics of both cat lovers and dog devotees. What they found out may surprise some who thought the stereotypes were true. READ MORE

Ever wonder which are the most popular puppy and kitten names? Whether your pet is a boy or a girl, you'll find the perfect name on our list - a list of over 5,000 puppy and kitten names! Use the drop-down to change from puppy to kitten.READ MORE

petMD Blogs

The Daily Vet is a blog featuring veterinarians from all walks of life. Every week they will tackle entertaining, interesting, and sometimes difficult topics in the world of animal medicine – all in the hopes that their unique insights and personal experiences will help you to understand your pets.

Pets and the Placebo Effect: Part 1

I often wonder what percentage of my veterinary successes are a result of the placebo effect.

I’m sure you’ve heard of this sometimes irksome aspect of medicine and medical research, but just so we’re all on the same page, let me pass along the way in which the journal Scientific American explained it:

In recent decades reports have confirmed the efficacy of various sham treatments in nearly all areas of medicine. Placebos have helped alleviate pain, depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, inflammatory disorders and even cancer.

Placebo effects can arise not only from a conscious belief in a drug but also from subconscious associations between recovery and the experience of being treated — from the pinch of a shot to a doctor’s white coat. Such subliminal conditioning can control bodily processes of which we are unaware, such as immune responses and the release of hormones.

Researchers have decoded some of the biology of placebo responses, demonstrating that they stem from active processes in the brain.

In veterinary medicine, I suspect the placebo effect works in several different ways. First of all, some of my patients seem to understand that all of the crazy things their owners and I do are aimed at helping them. If an animal thinks something along the lines of, "Oh good, these people finally understand that I don’t feel well and are trying to help," I could see how the same neurologic, endocrine, and immunological changes that are at work in people could play a part in a pet’s healing.

This might be especially true if an animal had positive experiences with medical treatment in the past. Say, for instance, a dog previously had an acute injury and received an oral NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory) that relieved his pain. I wouldn’t be surprised if the dog were to be injured again and we gave him a tablet that contained only inactive ingredients but looked, smelled, and tasted the same as his previous medication that he might experience some pain relief from the placebo effect.

Another form of the placebo effect also comes into play when treating companion animals. Many times, the way in which veterinarians measure the effect of treatment is to ask owners if they think their pets’ condition is improving and/or by making subjective judgment calls ourselves. Here’s an example. I diagnose a dog with osteoarthritis and start him on an NSAID and a chondroprotective joint supplement. A week or two later I either call the owner to see how the dog is doing or see him for a progress check. In either case, the consensus is that his condition has improved. All the people involved in the patient’s care are happy with the results, but how much of the supposed improvement is actually caused by our assumption that the dog would get better with treatment.

A recent study looked into the question of how prevalent this "caregiver" placebo effect is in both owners and veterinarians during the evaluation of dogs for lameness. More on this tomorrow.

Well, I remember when I was little and up at night with a cough, granny would get up to make me tea; by the time the tea was made the cough was over and I was asleep (even with hours of coughing prior). Clearly a placebo type effect, just knowing help was coming.

At the end, though, the results was that I stopped coughing and went to sleep.

I think any research done with placebos is very interesting, especially in dogs. For our dogs (who are performance dogs) after they are done coursing, especially after a long day of hunting, we will give them a dose of NSAIDs to try to alleviate any muscle pain and soreness that they might be experiencing. It would be interesting to see if their bodies would respond in the same way to a placebo NSAID. Thanks for the info!